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Sunday, 19 January 2014

Zoom In Zoom Out #3

There's not always a reason for a gap in my blog posts. Sometimes I'm busy; sometimes I'm lazy; sometimes I haven't got anything to share.  This weekend it was entirely out of my control as my ancient laptop failed yet again.  I shut it down one evening and by the morning it had decided that enough was enough.  Eight years of service, countless upgrades, an expanding workload and diminishing disk space proved too much.  R.I.P.

Luckily I had seen the writing on the wall after the latest hiccup before Christmas and just taken delivery of a replacement.  Unfortunately Hubby had advised me that a blank machine with separate software was the (cheapest and most flexible) way to go and so there was a steep learning curve before I could switch it on.  It has taken me all weekend and a great deal of Hubby's help to set the new machine up, restore my bookmarks and e-mail addresses, download the latest versions of the main programs that I use and get to grips with Windows 7 and Thunderbird which replaced my old laptop's Windows XP and Outlook Express.

I'm zooming in on one little niggle that annoyed me: Windows 7 is meant to stack running programs on the taskbar under the pinned icons.  This worked perfectly for Firefox - a little deck of icons for the multiple tabs - but for Thunderbird the pinned icon produced a separate icon when I read my e-mails.  Not what I wanted (and not what happens on Hubby's laptop) so I got a-Googling!

Jimjams - ZIZO 03 - Laptop problems

Eventually I found out that it was something to do with which version of Thunderbird had been pinned - totally confusing as I this was my first go with it and I hadn't realised I had more than one version!  You can just about see on my zoom out photo that the advice from PC advisor did the trick!  I'm a mouse user (left-handed, which leaves my right hand free for tea and typing) as I have never managed to get comfortable with the touchpad thingy built into laptops for moving the cursor.  My old laptop's rescued hard drive is there too, ready for a humongous copy operation.  I'll be taking my time though as this is an opportunity to clean up, consolidate and organise all my files.  Looking for the silver lining ... LOL

I'm joining in with Helena's Zoom In Zoom Out for week #3, hopefully next week's photos will be on a happier topic!
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13 comments:

  1. helena20 January 2014 at 12:30

    good to hear you got it sorted in the end - setting up the computer can be so frustrating - I need to bite the bullet and buy a new laptop while I have some time to work through all the setup and tweaking

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  2. happysnapper20 January 2014 at 13:20

    Technology hey, can't live with it, can't live without it

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  3. Sandra20 January 2014 at 14:18

    As much as I love technology and gadgets I hate the change over. I'm keeping my fingers crossed my laptop plays nicely a bit longer. I've had a few niggles with it recently so am always backing it up,

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  4. Lesley G20 January 2014 at 15:01

    Glad you're getting it slowly sorted.
    Hate technology when it goes wrong however google and those little aliens running around in cyberspace tend to know the answer to everything :)

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  5. Sian20 January 2014 at 16:52

    I'm not a technology lover and I'm not a lover of change either, so the two things together? Nightmare! Well done for sticking at it

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  6. ComfyMom~Stacey20 January 2014 at 17:34

    I find that pinning thing irritating. I don't like unwanted 'help'. I found a way to go back to the older style 'no pin' toolbar but I can't remember how I did it. My new computer at work is Win 7 and I want to change it to the old toolbar but for the life of me cannot find anything that tells me how it I did it.
    Congrats on the new computer! I love new technology. Once I've got it all sorted out.

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  7. furrypig20 January 2014 at 17:39

    Jemma just wanted to say congrats on joining SJ Crafts DT..... I love all those talented girls so will be fab to see another one of my talented friends joining them xxx

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  8. Lou20 January 2014 at 20:02

    oh my..i'd have been tearing my hair out. Techy stuff and me don't go together. Congrats on DT too xx

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  9. Missus Wookie21 January 2014 at 21:30

    Congratulations on getting it set up and on the DT. As for technology - I always tell Wookie I pay him for that :)

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  10. alexa21 January 2014 at 22:17

    Oh my goodness,this sounds like a whole load of total hassle and you have my admiration for persistence and tolerance! Ready loaded next time might be an option?

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  11. Heather McMahon22 January 2014 at 22:20

    Damn computers - can't live with em, can't live without em!

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  12. Sandie23 January 2014 at 22:45

    I have a love hate relationship with technology. I bought a new laptop last year and just as it ran out of warranty it failed to connect to the internet. My son is quite good but he can't get it sorted. And my scanner doesn't recognise the driver since my new computer was installed. I have to be in the mood to sort these out, I anticipate tedious time ahead. So glad you are getting yours sorted Jemma, and hope you soon get to grips with the new software. A great zizo post.

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  13. Unknown24 January 2014 at 23:56

    I am impressed that you fixed it! What would we do without Google?!?!?!?!?!?!?

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